A Good Chance
by Verona Sage
Summary: It was their friendship and their love for each other that were the only things that pulled them through... Just Please Read It!
1. Chapter 1

**It's Been a Long Time Coming**

**Authors Note: Don't own anything from Stand By Me, only thing I own is Danni. I watched this amazing film and was inspired, not sure if I will continue unless all of you readers enjoy it. So here it is!**

Chapter 1

Danni sullenly watched each one of her frosted flakes drown in the harrowing depths of her bowl as her father turned the morning paper to the next page. Danni sighed loudly watching the second hand on the clock tick by. This was what her summer had come to. Watching frosted flakes get soaked with milk and sighing loudly every morning hoping something exciting would happen, which of course, never did. It wasn't long until she heard the light tap tap of her mother's slippers hitting the floor walking in her usual hurried fashion.

"What's this?" Danni heard her mother say as she placed a notebook in front of her daughter's eyes. An alarm went off in Danni's mind and her forehead immediately creased with wrinkles as she realized what the notebook was.

"Did you read that?" Her mother stared at her quizzically with that look that most Asian mothers give their children when something was not up to par.

"It's stupid."

"What? Did you even read it?"

"No, I no need to read to know its stupid!" Danni's face crumpled with a pout forming at her lips.

"You're stupid." She quietly muttered under her breath as she grabbed the notebook and gripped it in her lap.

"What you say?" This of course was a normal event in Danni's everyday life. Hearing slightly hurtful and condescending remarks from mom was far from strange especially if it had anything to with Danni's writing and academics. And as usual, dad would just sit there in silence and act like he didn't hear a word. Danni sighed for what felt like the hundredth time in the last five minutes and rolled her eyes.

"Nothing mom." Her mother satisfied with the win turned her chin up and went to the sink to wash dishes. Her father finally put down the paper and sipped at his coffee.

"Have any plans today Danni?" Her father who was a now retired naval officer didn't have much to do with Danni's upbringing. He was never really around until recently and to Danni seemed like a distant stranger she barely knew and barely saw in herself. Her father was white. This of course in Danni's mind seemed to complicate her life more seeing as how she just looked so different from everyone else.

"Yes…in fact…I'm leaving right now." Clutching the notebook close to her heart she stood from her seat and walked to the front door.

"Okay then dear…be careful." She looked back in the kitchen to see both her parents not even looking to see her out, merely continuing with what they were doing. She shook her head lightly and clutched the doorknob.

"…I love you guys too." She said it under breath and slammed the door behind her.

She could already feel beads of sweat forming on her forehead as she stepped out into the sun walking the familiar path to the boy who lived just down the street. She slowly stopped in front of the dingy house contemplating whether or not to go or not when she heard the distant yet familiar shouting and screaming. That's when the front door suddenly swung open and Chris tumbled down the stairs.

"And where the hell do you think you're going!" The shape of Mr. Chambers screamed in the shadows of his house.

"Somewhere!" Chris shouted back angrily making his way to the front fence.

"Where the hell is that!"

"Anywhere but here!" Chris slammed the fence behind him and found Danni staring at him with her almond shaped eyes filled with fear. He tried to give her a convincing smile but knew that there was no point in trying with Danni.

"Get your ass back in here boy! I ain't done with you yet you stupid piece of shit!" Chris closed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Want to get out of here?" Danni asked quietly.

"Please." She nodded her head and they both walked side by side farther and farther away from the furious Mr. Chambers. It wasn't long before they both found themselves in a nearby park on the swings. Chris picked away at his finger as he felt the intent stare of Danni's eyes. "What?"

"Are you all ri…"

"I'm fine Danni." He said a little too harshly. Chris looked to the side to find Danni now staring intently at her worn sneakers and he sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out like that."

"Hey…You want to go get some ice cream?" Chris smiled and shook his head.

"Is that your solution to everything? Have a bad day eat some ice cream." He watched her shrug her shoulders and put a piece of her wavy black hair behind her ear.

"I wouldn't suggest it if it didn't work. Let's go Chris…yeah? On me?"

"Well…since I'm never one to refuse free food I say yes." It wasn't long that Chris and Danni had been friends in fact; it had been at the end of freshman year when they first spoke to each other. Danni had transferred in after the first few months of school had started and it was not an easy transition. She was new and she was 'different' as kids would say around school. She had an exotic look to her with her wavy jet black hair and she popped out like a sore thumb mixed in with all the blondes and brunettes on campus. She had come to a small town where being open-minded wasn't the strongest quality in people. She looked like a normal white person yet when she was actually standing next to a white person she just looked so foreign. She was an immediate outsider and although Chris had seen her hang around alone in the corners of the campus he had never found a moment to have the bravery to actually go speak to her. It was hard enough having Chambers be his last name. That was until fate stepped in and decided get to them in the same room alone.

It was the last school day before spring break and Danni and Chris were in the same gym class. It was just a basketball game but some people just took it too seriously, Chris had seen the way the other girls had pushed Danni into the ground. He silently watched her limp in doors where the first aid supplies were kept when he heard his name.

"Chris!" It was too late, the ball had hit him square in the face and his nose was bleeding. He slowly opened his eyes and found Gordie looking down upon him. "Oh man, are you okay?" Chris could feel the blood make its way down his cheek and he cautiously wiped it away. "What were you thinking man? You can't go look in the opposite direction in the middle of the basketball game especially when Mike is playing. He hates you man." Gordie grasped Chris's hand and stood him up.

"God damn it Chambers! You're supposed to catch the damn ball with your hands not with your face. Look! You got blood all over the ball!" Chris stood silently holding his nose listening to the gym teacher once again yell at him.

"But Mr. Devitt it wasn't his fault. Mike passed it too high! He did it on purpose!" Gordie yelled for the sake of his friend.

"What?" Gordie turned to Mike and glared.

"You're not supposed to pass the ball towards someone's head you idiot!"

"Oh, don't blame this on me LeChance. It's not my fault your lame friend doesn't know how play." Chris held Gordie back before he could say anything else. It was a hopeless fight; it was always Chris's fault. Mr. Devitt shook his head.

"Chambers get the hell off my court and go clean yourself up in the first aid room. And make sure that Danni brings back the key to the room; don't do anything stupid neither Chambers, the door locks from the outside." Chris made his way into the locker room and noticed the first aid room slightly ajar. He slowly opened the door when he suddenly tripped; as soon as he landed he heard an intake of breath and the door slam behind him.

"You've got to be kidding me." Chris looked up to see Danni standing with a large band-aid on her knee and her mouth hanging open. He turned his head only to see the door closed. Chris wiped his nose and turned the knob but it didn't budge.

"Don't you have the key?"

"No."

"What?"

"Are you deaf? I said no."

"Where is it?"

"I put it down on the counter right outside this door when I came in." Chris turned to look at Danni who looked absolutely miserable.

"Then how were you planning to get out after you were done?"

"Hence the doorstopper." She pointed toward his feet. That's when he realized he had tripped over the doorstopper when coming in causing the door to close.

"Shit…Well maybe I can shake it loose or something."

"I wouldn't…" That was about the time the door knob came off. All Chris could do was look at the knob which was now in his hand and the socket in which the knob had been just a few moments ago.

"Shit…"

"You can say that again. Nice job retard."

"This day couldn't get any worse."

"Please don't say that. The roof may collapse on us." Chris turned to see Danni making herself comfortable in the corner of the room.

"What?"

"You never know man…things can always get worse no matter how bad things may seem."

"Well aren't you the optimistic one." She grinned.

"I try. Well…since we may be stuck here for a while you might as well clean up that bloody nose."

"Yeah…I'm Chris."

"Danni." And that was that. The rest is history. They were stuck in the room for a span of three hours before Gordie finally convinced the janitor that someone was in fact locked inside the first aid room. Within those three hours life stories were swapped and a friendship was formed.

"That's so sick Danni." Danni threw him a questioning look. "How can you put chocolate syrup on strawberry ice cream…I mean, how is that good?"

"Have you ever tried it?" Chris grimaced and turned away from the spoonful of strangely colored ice cream that Danni was now shoving in his face.

"Nope, and I don't plan to."

"Then shush my dear." Shoving the ice cream in her mouth. "Look at you, chocolate ice cream? Can you get anymore boring?"

"What? That's completely normal."

"Precisely, normal and b-o-r-i-n-g boring."

"I'm so glad you know how to spell."

"Shut up!" The ice cream parlor was crowded as it usually was during the summer and it was no strange coincidence that Gordie soon came bumbling in through the glass door as well.

"Hey Chris, Danni, I knew you missed me Danni but do you really have to gorge yourself in strangely discolored ice cream every time you don't see me?" Gordie grinned.

"Oh go find yourself a blow up doll LaChance. You wish I was fawning over you."

"Why are you friends with her again Chris?" Chris shrugged his shoulders and made room for Gordie to sit in the booth next to him.

"Tell me about it. She's a god damn leech. Couldn't get rid of her."

"Shame."

"Oh…should I leave you two little lovebirds to converse alone?" Danni chimed in before she could receive anymore teasing from the two boys that were now seated in front of her.

**Authors Note: So? What do you thing? If you liked it please review and urge me to continue. I'll only go on if I get enough responses! So Please please please leave some feedback. **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Authors Note: I didn't get much of a response from my last chapter and I'm not sure if people actually liked what I wrote or just didn't like the characters. But I decided to write one more chapter to see if I get more feedback to see how people feel. **

**KL inc THIS ONE is definetely for you. So you better enjoy!! Happy reading:)**

"See you guys." Danni and Chris both waved as Gordie turned right and they turned left. They had spent another hot day of the summer lounging around town without anything to do, all none too happy to be going home. Chris's footsteps seemed to drag on the pavement with lethargic dread as they came closer and closer to his home. Danni could already feel the tension in the air build and all she could do was grip her notebook a little tighter not knowing how else to react.

"You could come hang out at my house if you want." Danni stated lightly trying to think of anything that could possibly alleviate her friend. Chris simply shrugged his shoulders and smirked.

"I really wish it was that easy." It seemed they had walked too quickly for it wasn't long until they were both standing in front of Chris's home. One could already hear the distant shouting between his parents. Chris sighed loudly, "Guess that's my cue."

"Chris…" He glanced back at Danni with a questioning look in his eyes.

"Yeah?" Danni could do nothing but feel helpless trying to figure out the best way to actually say what she was thinking.

"Just…come with me tonight okay?" Chris just smiled and began to strut towards her with one hand in his pocket.

"Oohh…someone wants me bad. What's the matter Danni? Need a real man by your side?" He ran his hand through his lengthy dirty blonde hair for extra charm effect. Danni just shook her head.

"No…you know what I mean."

"No actually…I think I need you to explain it to me." Chris lifted his eye brows with a sly grin. But his mood was immediately put to rest when he saw the somber look in Danni's eyes.

"Chris…you shouldn't feel obligated."

"Obligated to what?"

"I mean, you shouldn't feel obligated to break up that fight that's going on in there between your parents. You shouldn't feel obligated to take the brunt of your dad's anger." Chris's shoulders fell and he looked back towards his house with eyes that held so much pain, too much pain for someone so young, for someone so kind.

"Then what am I supposed to do? Just let him do whatever he wants?"

"No, you're supposed to give yourself a break. I know you feel like you should be able to stop it but…I mean…god…why do you give yourself so much responsibility?"

"Cause no one else will." He said this under his breath.

"But you're just a kid. We're just kids Chris…you of all people shouldn't have to deal with this." Chris tried his best to shake off the entire conversation. He knew Danni would never understand. It's great to have close friends you could pour your heart out to but Chris knew no matter how hard he tried to make Danni understand she never would. Unless you had gone through the same thing…the understanding just wasn't the same. He swallowed his tears, those would be saved for later that night when he was alone in his room, and gave Danni a hard hug.

"Hey, hey no need to worry about me! I'm the bad ass Chris Chambers haven't you heard? It's the word around town." He tried to give Danni the most genuine smile he possibly could. "I'll see you tomorrow?" He left it at that, pulling away from the warmth of Danni's body to the desolate building he called 'home.' Chris couldn't bear to say anything else to her in fear of completely breaking down. _Just one more year_ he thought. _Just one more year and I can finally be free of this._

Danni could do nothing but watch as Chris marched towards his house as a soldier would into a battle zone. She was sure that Chris was the bravest person she had ever met. But their conversation soon began to slip into the back of her mind as she noticed a familiar car pulled up into her home's driveway. Danni's heart began to beat faster as the fear began to creep through her body. She opened the door to her house and found him sitting at the table.

"Danni!" Danni tensed as she felt her father's arm wrap itself around her shoulder. "Sorry about the surprise but…Keith decided to join us for the last of his summer before going back to school." And there he sat in all his glory at the kitchen table. 6'2, a sharp face, short blonde hair, and cold hazel eyes. This was Keith Travis. Danni's step-brother, the son of her father from a previous marriage that didn't work out too well. He was honestly the best son any father could ask for. Keith was very good, almost too good in anything he attempted to do. But more than anything, he was very good at football. The star quarterback of his college football team, on his way straight to the NFL. But of all the people that Danni knew…there was no one else in the world that hated something with more burning passion than the way Keith hated football. But of course he would never tell anyone except her and he made sure she would never ever tell anyone. He had a very persuasive way of making sure of this...his fist.

"Hi Keith." Danni mumbled hesitantly as she watched him turn away. Her father pulled her out into the hallway.

"Look Danni. I know that you and Keith have never been very close but…he's been having a pretty rough time. What with college, and football, and now his mother getting engaged to a new man well…it's been hard for him." Danni gave her dad a confused look. "He's my son and he is your step brother after all so…you know. Make him feel welcome okay honey?"

"I'll try dad." Danni ran to her room and shut the door charging to her phone. She quickly dialed the number she knew so well and waited for that familiar voice.

"Hello?"

"Chris?"

"Danni? Look Danni I already told you okay…I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"Chris…" Danni heard the doorknob turn and she quickly glanced over her shoulder. "I have to go Chris. I don't think I can hang out tomorrow."

"What? Wh…" It was too late. She had already hung up the phone. Keith closed the door silently behind him as he looked upon his step-sister with what could only be described as envy.

"Having fun with the life that should've been mine Danni?" Danni began to tremble in fear.

"Keith I…"

"Just shut your mouth!"

**Authors note: So? Hope you guys liked it. PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU READ THIS. If I get enough feedback I may contemplate on actually continuing this story. THANK AGAIN TO KL inc for the motivation. **


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